


The Life Of Nicole Wilde

by PizzaSteve3902



Series: The "Life of..." [2]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Bunnyburrow (Zootopia), F/M, Zootopia (City), Zootopia Police Department
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-04-27 19:14:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14432295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PizzaSteve3902/pseuds/PizzaSteve3902
Summary: Nicole Wilde, the adopted daughter of Nick and Judy, has a pretty good life. She has three really close friends, and internship at the ZPD, and her own car. It's the life that many only dream of. But things soon take a turn for the worse when a mysterious vixen shows up claiming to be Nicole's biological mother. It gets even crazier when Nicole makes a deal with her.





	1. Only A Normal Day

**Author's Note:**

> Just the first chapter for now. I need to get feedback on this before I publish the rest.

_Author’s Note:_

_Now rated M for graphic depiction of violence and self-harm. No course language, though, so if you are ok with violence but not ok with all the cussing, (like me) you can read this with no problem._

_Based partly on_ Zootopia: Snowfall _by winterrios69._

_Some of the details have changed from the old version because they were wrong to begin with, or because I wasn’t happy with the old ones._

* * *

**Prologue:**

So, this is a prologue, or something like that. I’m not sure what I need to say, but here goes.

Hello. My name is Nicole Marie Wilde. I’m 17, I’m a fox, and my parents are Nick and Judy Wilde. I have two brothers, Kenny Wilde, a rabbit, and Josh Wilde, another fox. Me and Ken were adopted the same day, and ironically it was Kenny’s birthday. I was two when I was adopted. Josh was adopted eight years later. It’s a little fuzzy, but I think his parents got killed somehow, and he was left, so my parents took him in as their own. I don’t know what happened to my parents, but I really couldn't care less. This is my family now, and I wouldn’t change them for the world.

Dad has had a pretty rough life. He was bullied as a child just for being a fox. Since he wasn’t able to change their minds, he decided to become the stereotype. He lived that way for over twenty years before my mom came along. She found him and changed him. God, they tell the story all the time; it was the Night Howler case that was what brought them together. Eventually, he joined the ZPD like mom. Three months before they got married, though, he had his left paw amputated by a gang during an undercover mission. And a month before me and Kenny were adopted, he lost his prosthetic during yet another undercover mission. I guess since he knew the streets well he was good for undercover stuff. But since then, he has had a new one installed, and it looks like he never even lost his paw in the first place.

Mom was sort of the “black sheep” of her family. She wanted to be a police officer all her life, when her parents were completely against it. She battled against all odds and joined anyway. But nobody believed she would survive very long, especially her boss, Chief Mason Bogo. She proved everyone wrong when she solved the Night Howler case. Now, the two are the best cops at the ZPD Precinct One.

I want to become a cop like my parents. Kenny, on the other hand, wants to become a full-time officer in the military. That’s my second choice if being a cop doesn’t work out. We never met our paternal grandparents. They died before I was even a year old. But me and Kenny were named after them. My middle name is Marie, like our grandma, and Kenny’s is Jefferson, like our grandpa. Josh, meanwhile, loves to do all kinds of things. He doesn’t have an idea of what he wants to be, but he’s only seven.

I have two best friends, Brandon Pines and Tia Clawhauser. Brandon was the one who told me I was adopted, not my parents. We were on the playground at school back when we lived inside the city. He must’ve assumed my mom was a fox too, because Dad usually picked me up from school. But this one day, I don’t remember the circumstances, but Mom came to pick me up. When he saw me run over to her, he nudged me and said she wasn’t my real mom. I didn’t believe him, but I asked Mom about it on the ride home. She brushed it off until that night at supper when Mom and Dad explained how me and Kenny were adopted and how they weren’t able to have kits of their own. I was sad, but it didn’t break my love for them; in fact, it caused it to grow more.

And I have a crush on Todd Marshall. But only Brandon, Tia, and Ken know. I feel it would be too awkward to tell my parents just yet. But once he asks me out, they’ll be the first—no, probably third—to know.

I don’t consider myself the “rebellious” type. I’m usually ok with whatever rules my parents set up. Dad is really good at switching between being his kids’ best friend and their dad in a split second. Mom, on the other hand, is not the best at it, but at least she tries to be the best Mom ever (spoiler alert, she is!). She has this innate ability to remove your bad feelings when you are in her presence. It’s odd, but I think that’s what keeps Dad going.

I love my family as it is, and I wouldn’t change them for the world. I don’t know who my biological parents are, and if they are even alive today, I really don’t care. This is my family now.

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Only A Normal Day:**

I open my eyes to be greeted with the ceiling of my bedroom. I yawn and roll over, tossing the covers aside. I get up and step out of my bedroom. I make my way downstairs to the living room, where I sit down on the couch. I could hear Mom making breakfast in the kitchen. The sun was just peeking through the large patio windows into the house. I had gotten used to waking up early so I could go with my parents to the Precinct in the mornings during the summer when I was old enough to. I am in the process of getting an internship at the Precinct to get a head start on training.

“Morning, Nicole,” Mom said as she stepped out of the kitchen with her coffee mug in paw.

“Morning,” I said.

“Did you do your homework last night?”

“Yes. I think that paper will get an A- at _least_.”

“Good to hear.” Mom got up and went back to work in the kitchen.

Dad groggily walked down the stairs as he yawned and rubbed his eyes. He had his prosthetic cover in his paw.

“Good morning,” I said.

“Morning. It seems like I have to wake up earlier every day,” Dad said as he flopped onto his easy chair. Mom came in and handed Dad a cup of coffee. “Thank you, Carrots.”

I look about the room. The house is a four bedroom, three-and-a-half bath, three-car garage, two story house. There is a large backyard with an in-ground pool and covered patio, complete with well-kept furniture. My parents love to entertain guests, especially us kids’ friends. We had moved out to Temperate Terrace after my parents adopted Josh. They knew raising kids would be a lot easier in the suburbs than the city.

“Kenny’s sleeping in again,” Dad said.

“I’ll take care of this,” I said as I made my way back upstairs. I open the door to his room and take a look at my brother. He is sprawled out on his bed, the covers thrown off during the night. His snoring reminds me of a freight train barreling down the tracks. I pick up one of his pillows and begin hitting him with it.

“Ah! What’s going on!?” Ken yells as he squirms around on his bed.

“Get up, ya sleepyhead!” I said as I threw the pillow into his face. “You stayed up too late playing games… again.”

“Alright! Alright! I’ll get up! Jeez!.” Ken started getting out of bed, so I went back downstairs. Kenny’s always playing games. He never seems to know when enough is enough. Dad’s into gaming, so he build all of us, except Josh, our own desktop computers. They have the specs to crush anything. We also have two Zbox One Xs and a PawStation Four Pro.

I sit back down on the couch as Ken sat beside me. “Breakfast is ready!” Mom said as she stepped into the living room. “And can someone please wake Josh up? You need to leave for school in an hour.”

I got up and walked passed Mom into the dining room. Since I’m a fox, I grew taller than Mom when I was about thirteen. Kenny is ever so slightly taller than Mom, but Josh hasn’t grown that tall yet. I don’t want to say anything, but I think Kenny is Mom’s favorite because he’s the only other bunny, but that’s none of my business.

“Ok, I guess _I_ will,” Dad said as Kenny had followed me into the dining room.

We sat down to eat our breakfast, scrambled eggs and turkey bacon for me, and jelly toast for Kenny.

As we’re eating, Josh comes in and sits down at his spot, followed by Dad, in full police uniform. He started pulling the prosthetic cover onto his left paw as he gave me a kiss on the forehead. “See you later, sweetie.” He then proceeds to give Kenny and Josh a one-armed hug. “See you guys later!”

“Bye!” we all say. Dad steps out into the garage and we see his cruiser pull out of the driveway.

Mom has saved up her vacation days and is staying home for a week. She felt she needed to take care of the house a bit now that school has started. Speaking of, I need to get ready.

I put my plate into the dishwasher in the kitchen, then go back to my room. I pick out some clothes and proceed to change into them. As I put my shirt on, I notice the scar on my back in the mirror. I run my paw down it as I remember that day. “Never again,” I whisper to myself as I gather my books and shove them into my backpack. I give Mom a quick hug as I walk out the door.

I walk out into the sidewalk and walk to the corner of our street to the bus stop. Brandon was there, waiting for me. “What’s up?” he asked as I joined him.

“Internship papers haven’t come in yet,” I said. “I hope they come in this week.”

Brandon nods in agreement. Brandon is a red wolf, and his mom is a ZPD officer like my parents. She _was_ an MCB agent before being transferred. Brandon’s a few inches taller than me, and probably taller than Dad, but I haven’t ever seen them side-by-side.

Kenny and Josh walk up beside us as soon as the bus pulled up. Kenny is the “guardian” of Josh at school; keeping him out of fight, getting him where he needs to be on time, et cetera.

We all get on board the bus, saying hello to the driver, Mr. White. Mr. White used to work for Mr. Big, but when he decided to retire from that, Mr. Big pulled a few strings and got him this job. He’s really nice and loves to take care of kids in the bus. It was like he was made for this job.

When we arrive at school, me and Brandon are surrounded by mammals of all sizes. I start walking towards the door, but almost step on a small group of mice. “Watch it, big guy!” one yells.

“Sorry! Sorry!” I said as I walked away, making sure not to step on any more small mammals.

Once I make it to homeroom, I sit in my assigned seat, third row, next to the wall with the window. Brandon’s seat is right next to mine. The class is comprised of medium-sized mammals, rabbit to wolf I think. The last student to walk in was none other than Todd Marshall. I stare at him as he walks in and takes his seat. He turns and looks at me and I turn away. I look back and he gives a little wave. I wave back, not wanting to be rude.

“You do realize,” Brandon started. “You’ll never actually meet him if you just smile and wave all the time. Go talk to him!”

“Oh no no no no no! I’m not doing that!”

“And why not?”

“What if… what if he doesn’t like me?”

“Really? I haven’t seen him display any inter behavior, and you two are the only foxes. You have a pretty good chance with him.”

Brandon began to push me out of my seat. But just then, Mrs. Ramwell came in. “Too late now,” I said.

Brandon rolled his eyes and mouthed the words “After class.” I just gave a nervous shrug.

“Class!” Mrs. Ramwell started, making the students become silent and listen to her. “Today is a special day. It is the day we will be having the new anti-bulling rules go into effect. For today, you will need to sit in a different seat than normal, and you must be at least one seat apart from your friends.” I gave a nervous look at Brandon, knowing he would force me to sit next to Todd. “And you will then get to know the mammal you sit next to.” Of course. “We’ll start now. Move to a different seat. You have five minutes.”

Mammals started moving about the room to a different seat than what they were in.

“Come, on,” Brandon said, taking my paw and pulling me over to where Todd had moved to. “Todd Marshall, I’d like you to meet Nicole Wilde.”

“Wait, you know him?” I asked Brandon.

“Just an aquaintene. Have fun!” Brandon said as he went to a different seat, abandoning me with my crush. I knew I would mess this up.

“Hey,” Todd started.

“Um, hey,” I said back as I sat down in the seat next to him.

“So, you’re the daughter of Nick and Judy Wilde, right?”

“Yeah. They adopted me when I was two.”

“Cool.”

I sat in silence for a while, not knowing what to say, but Mrs. Ramwell saved me by starting the class.

I was pretty bored during the hour that the class went on, but I made sure to never let Mrs. Ramwell see. She hates it when a student shows any sign of boredom. I got detention for yawning once. What’s up with that?

At lunch, we were supposed to sit at a table with mammals we had either never met or barely knew. I really think this was a waste of time, but I sat at a table with some mammals I didn’t really know. I asked their names, gave them mine, and shook their paw (or hoof). I didn’t have a problem with that. But what made me jump was when Todd sat _right next to me_.

“Hello again, Nicole,” Todd said.

“Oh, um, hi again, too, I guess,” I said, getting nervous once again. It was exhilarating to be sitting this close to him, but also terrifying at the same time. I could feel a warm blush under my fur as I sat there, eating my chicken nuggets.

When Todd finished his food, he wiped his muzzle with a napkin, then turned towards me. “So,” he started. “What’s it like to be th daughter of the greatest officers the ZPD has?”

I felt a bit taken aback by this question, but I answered politely anyway. “Well, it has its ups and downs. A big up is the opportunities I have because of it.”

“Opportunities? Like what?”

“Well, for one, I have a better chance of getting into the ZPD Academy once I turn twenty one.”

“And you mentioned downs?”

“Yeah, like, for instance, sometimes my parent will be gone on the night shift, or maybe a case is taking longer than they thought. I have to take a lot more responsibility to take care of things when they are gone.”

“I have to stay home alone a lot.”

“Oh?”

“My dad works at a big architectural firm in downtown, and he’s often away on business meetings and whatnot.”

“What about your mom?” I instantly regretted asking that, because Todd’s eyes started to tear up. It was quick; they were gone as soon as they were there.

“She’s gone. She died four years ago. I know it’s been hard on my dad. He got drunk every night for a long time after that. My mom’s brother took better care of me and the triplets better than dad ever did.” Todd took a long breath. “He taught me more about life than anyone else. When he died a year ago, I almost killed myself, but his words kept telling me to hold on. So I did.”

“I’m… I’m sorry I brought it up,” I said, holding back tears of my own.

“It’s ok. I’ve been needing to tell someone that for a long time. I never had many friends, especially in school. I was always jealous of you and how you had so many friends, despite being a fox. Nobody listens to me because I’m a fox.”

“I though the prejudice from the last generation would’ve died out by now!” I said, shocked at how Todd had been treated.

“You’d be surprised at how much prejudice there still is in the world.”

Throughout the rest of the lunch hour, me and Todd sat and talked about all kinds of stuff. When we walked into second hour, which we also shared, I didn’t recognize Brandon sit next to me. He tapped he on the shoulder, startling me.

“I see you made a friend,” Brandon said, motioning to Todd.

“I suppose so,” I said.

“Sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier. Name’s Brandon.”

“Nice to meet you, Brandon,” Todd said, shaking his paw.

“Likewise.”

* * *

As I was walking out of the school building, headed for the buses before they left, I heard Todd call out.

“Nicole!”

I turned and faced where it was coming from and I saw him walking up to me. “Hey,” I said.

“Hey. Do you think it would be ok if I hung out at your place?”

“What?”

“I know we just met today, but I have nowhere else to really go. My dad is off on a business trip, and the triplets are with the grandparents. I’ll leave as soon as your parents say so.”

“I guess it’s ok. I’m sure my mom wouldn’t mind.” By now, the buses had already left. “Guess we’re walking,” I said.

“I walk to school everyday. it’s not a big deal,” Todd said.

As we are walking home, I shoot Mom a text.

_Me: Hey Mom. I’m walking home from school. A friend is coming over to hang out. Cool?_

_Mom: Ok. See you in a few._

“My mom said it’s fine if you come over.”

“Cool beans.”

* * *

When we got home, we went into the front door. “Mom! I’m home!” I called out.

“Be there in a minute!” she replied from the kitchen.

Me and Todd sat down on the couch in an awkward silence. When Mom entered, she looked at Todd, then at me. “Who’s this?”

“Mom,” I said. “This is Todd Marshall.”

Todd shook Mom’s paw when she offered it. “Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Wilde.”

“Likewise, Todd.” Mom turned to me and whispered in my ear, “Don’t do anything you’d regret.”

I nodded, reassuring Mom I was being smart about this.

“Have fun, you two,” Mom said before heading upstairs.

I looked at Todd, who looked at me. “What do you want to do?” I asked. “We have Zboxes and a PawStation if you want. We have tons of board games if you want.”

Todd chuckled a bit before sitting back down on the couch. “I’d love to play a game of Zootopia-opoly. I haven’t played that since middle school.”

“Ok. But I must warn you, I’ve been playing since I was three,” I said.

“Oh please. My dad’s a businessmammal. I think I know a thing or two about finances.”

* * *

That night, as we were gathered around the dinner table, enjoying a home-cooked meal, Dad asked as usual, “How was everyone’s day?”

Before I could even get a _sound_ out, Josh blurted out, “Nicole had her boyfriend over!”

I could feel my face and ears turning warm and red. “He’s not like that!” I blurted back at Josh.

“Well,” Josh started, “he’s a fox, and he’s handsome.”

“So?” I asked.

“You love him!”

I was really not up to this, so I dropped it. Dad raised an eyebrow at me before sharing a look with Mom.

“What’d you do, then?” Dad asked.

“Played a game of Zootopia-opoly,” I said.

“Anything else?”

“We talked a bit.”

Dad nodded as he put his fork into his mouth. “How long have you known him?”

“I met him today.”

Dad choked on his food and took a sip of water to flush it out. “What?”

“I was introduced to him today, and he’s really nice,” I said.

“Nicole, you know you don’t just invite someone you just met into your home!”

“It’s safer than if we met up at a gas station or something!”

“This is true,” Mom said.

“Thank you!” I said.

Dad sat in silence for a moment, before looking at me. “Tomorrow, I want to meet this tod, ok?”

“Yes, sir,” I said. “Ironically, his name _is_ Todd.”

“Probably the author read that male foxes are called tods, so he named him after that fact,” Dad said.

“Nick!” Mom said. “No fourth wall jokes at the table!”

“Sorry, Carrots,” Dad said, putting his paws up in surrender.

* * *

_ Protagonist's Note: _

_So, yeah. that’s the first chapter of my story. I know it may seem like some sappy teen romance or something, but it’s not. It’ll be a few chapters, but it gets really dramatic an—_

_Author’s Note:_

_Hey! What’re you doing in my note? It’s my time to talk to the readers!_

_Sorry about that. Anyway, thanks for reading this far. I hope you enjoy the rest of this story! Remember to favorite, follow, and review!_


	2. Revelations of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole and Todd get a little closer, Nick meets Todd, and Judy breaks her foot. Nicole then talks to Nick about his past more.

**Chapter 2 – Revelations of the Past:**

The next day, at school, I paid better attention than yesterday. But when lunch hour finally came, I was worn out, so I decided to “break off” from reality, so-to-speak, and drifted off to imagination-land. I barely registered that Todd had sat down beside me.

“So how are things?” Todd asked, starling me back into reality.

“Boring sometimes,” I said. “School especially.

Todd nodded, then added, “I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Why’s that?”

“Apparently one blanket isn’t enough at night anymore. I need more to keep warm.”

“I hate the cold.”

“Me too.”

We talked for a little while, just small talk, really. But eventually an awkward subject came up: dating.

“Have you ever been on a date before?” Todd asked.

“A few,” I said, taken aback by his question. “They were mostly blind dates. We never had any chemistry. You?”

“Two. But I couldn’t tell you their names even if I tried. They were—how would I say this—not memorable, I guess.”

“Well,” I said, suddenly remembering Dad’s request. “My dad wants to meet you today after school if that’s alright.”

“Yeah. It’s cool.”

“Cool.”

We then fell into an awkward—yet still comfortable—silence. It was an odd feeling, being in the crowded room with the one mammal I felt truly attracted to. The feeling was nauseating at times, and exhilarating at others.

“You know,” Todd said, breaking the reverie. “I’ve had a crush on you since the first day of our freshmen year.”

“Oh?” I said, interested in the fact we had a crush on each other since then.

“Yeah. It was almost as if it was predestined to be; you and I are the only foxes in Temperate Terrace High School. I’m not inter—you might be, I don’t know. But still, ever since I first saw you walk up the steps into the building those few years ago, I knew I was in love.”

I gave a nervous smile at him. I could tell he was telling the truth.

“And most of all,” Todd continued. “I have since then found you to be sweet, charming, smart, funny, and most of all, beautiful.”

I blushed really hard right then, hoping he wouldn’t notice it under my fur. “That’s so sweet of you to say,” I said, at a loss for anything more to say.

Just then, Brandon and Tia sit down across the table from us.

“How’s it going, Nicole?” Tia asked as she began eating her tuna sandwich.

“Good,” I replied.

I then began eating my, now cold, sandwich.

* * *

After school, Kenny began bugging me about Todd.

“So when’s the date for the wedding, huh?”

“Just shut up! We are _not_ dating!” I said, throwing a pillow from the couch on him. They’re called “throw pillows” after all!

“Not yet, anyway!”

I sighed and went upstairs to by bedroom and closed the door behind me. I looked at myself in the mirror. I turned around and lifted my shirt off my back to see my scar. I ran my paw down it, remembering the blood and pain it had caused me a year ago.

I sat down at my desk and opened my laptop. I started browsing through RedditPaw to see what was new. Not much that I didn’t already know was on the front page. And, as usual, it was filled with junk. Oftentimes I wonder why I don’t just delete my account; but then I see the meme I had made that made it’s way to the front page of the sub and remember why I keep my account. Mom’s vacation time ended today, so she had went to work this morning with Dad. It was me and my brothers all alone. I closed the laptop and made my way downstairs to get a small snack. I picked up an apple and took a bite as I leaned against the fridge. As I was eating, my phone began to ring. I saw the caller ID was Dad’s, so I answered it. “What’s up?” I asked.

“ _Nicole, get your brothers out to the hospital,”_ Dad said.

“Why? What’s wrong?” I asked, beginning to get scared. I set the apple down on the counter as I made my way upstairs to get Kenny and Josh.

“ _It’s not very serious, but I would like it if you were here,”_ Dad replied. _“Your mom’s been shot in the foot.”_

“Is she going to be ok?”

“ _They just took her in to get it set. It’ll just need some time to heal.”_

“That’s a relief,” I said as I stepped into Kenny’s room. Josh and him were playing Howlo 6 on the Zbox _(By the time this is taking place, Halo 6—and maybe 7—would’ve been released)_. “Dad wants me to take you guys somewhere,” I said.

“Where?” Josh asked.

“You’ll see when we get there,” I said. “We’re on our way, Dad.”

“ _See you in a few. I love you.”_

“Love you too, Dad. Bye.”

The three of us climbed into my car. It used to be my dad’s, and before then, an undercover police car. It still has the hidden lights and siren, but they’re disconnected. The car is a 2016 Viper X. It’s basically the middle ground between a sports car and a muscle car. It has a 6.7l big block V8 putting out 650 horsepower with a seven-speed manual. It has a system to shut off two or four cylinders to save fuel, giving it a maximum of 30+ mpg (if there is a tailwind). It has two doors, but five seats. The back seats are cramped, but it wasn’t designed as a family car, anyway. I pull out of the garage and we head off towards the hospital.

When we arrive, Josh was a bit confused. “Why are we at the hospital?”

“Be patient, Josh,” I said as we walked up to the emergency room doors. “You’ll find out soon.” Dad was sitting in the waiting room, waiting for us. “What’s the status?” I asked as we walked up to him.

“She’s doing fine. She’ll be out in—m,” Dad started, but Josh grabbed onto his legs.

“Where’s Mommy?” He asked.

Dad got unto one knee to look him in the face. “Mommy’s fine! She just had an accident at work, so she’s getting a boot to help her heal.”

“Will she be fine?”

Dad chuckled. “Yes, Josh. She will be fine.”

Just as he said that, Mom was wheeled into the waiting room by a nurse.

“This is the third time I’ve been shot in the line of duty!” Mom exclaimed as she came near us.

“That’s better than me,” Dad said as he pulled out his necklace made with all of the bullets he had been shot with through the years.

“Why do you even keep those?” Mom asked.

“It makes for a good story. Especially when we visit your family.”

“It blows my mind that you even requested to keep those after the surgeries anyway.”

“Battle scars, my dear Carrots. Any true warrior will keep things to remind him of his failures so he can keep from making them again.”

“Even so, I don’t need another one,” Mom said, pulling out her necklace from under her vest—a cursive N with blue diamonds in it. Dad had given it to her the day he proposed.

Dad smiled at her and leaned down to give her a kiss.

“Look away,” Kenny said as he and Josh turned around.

When my parents stopped their PDA, they turned to me. “I’m looking forward to meeting your boyfriend later,” Dad said.

My face grew red once he said that. “He’s—he’s not like that.”

“Don’t worry, Nicole. I won’t run him off too fast,” Dad said.

Mom gave him a little swat on his chest. “Nick!”

“I’m joking,” Dad said as he laughed a bit. Dad sighed as he looked at me.

“What?” I asked.

“It seems as it was only yesterday you were a little kit,” Dad said.

“And I still remember when you got into the blueberries in the fridge,” Mom added. “And your father had to carry you by the scruff of your neck.”

“That wasn’t the last time, either,” Dad added to that.

“Yeah,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “Still have the scars.”

Mom then gave Dad a punch in the arm. “Nick! You said that didn’t hurt them!”

“I’m kidding, Mom,” I said.

“Anyways,” Dad said. “you need to take Carrots here home so she can rest.”

“And the boys?” I asked.

“They’ll come back to work with me. It’s just paperwork from here on out.”

“Ok then,” I said, pushing Mom’s wheelchair out to the parking lot.

* * *

A few hours later, the sun started to sink behind the horizon. Dad had gotten home from the Precinct with the boys, and Todd was on his way to our house so he could meet Dad. I was, probably understandably, nervous. Dad had always had a seemingly negative outlook on me dating. I never understood why, though.

Just then, the doorbell rang. I went to answer it, but Dad stopped me. “I’ll get it, sweetie.” He had his open carry holster on, with his Glock in it, probably locked and loaded. He opened the door and Todd was there. “Good evening,” Dad said.

“You too, sir,” Todd said.

“Won’t you come in?” Dad said, inviting Todd in. He made sure Todd saw the loaded gun in his holster.

“Thank you, sir,” Todd said as he came into the house.

“Have a seat, Todd,” Dad said, gesturing to the couch. Todd began to sit down beside me, but Dad stopped him. “No, no. On the opposite side.” So Todd sat on the opposite side of the couch from me, and Dad paced in front of us. I began sweating and fidgeting with my paws, not knowing what would happen. “How old are you, son?”

“Seventeen, sir.”

“Do you have a license?”

“Yes, sir. I have it with me,” Todd said, handing Dad his license. He looked it over and wrote the number down on his notepad, probably to run it through the ZPD systems. Dad handed it back to Todd.

“Looks to be in order. Who’s your family?”

“My father is Todd Marshall, Sr., my siblings are Roxanne, Fred, and Andy. They are triplets and are five years old, sir.”

“Your mother?”

“She died four years ago, sir.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” It became silent for a while, until Dad finally spoke again. “You have my blessing.”

“To do what?” Todd asked.

“To court my daughter.”

Todd and I both started to protest.

“That’s not what this is,” Todd said.

“We’re just friends,” I said.

Dad laughed. “That’s what I said when me and Carrots became friends. And look how that turned out.” I closed my muzzle, and so did Todd. We looked at each other, then back at Dad. “It’ll be a while, but you’ll find it out eventually.”

* * *

After Dad had interrogated Todd, Mom came in and talked a little with him, then he said it was getting late and needed to leave. I went to bed soon after that anxious. I wasn’t sure what to think about Dad almost _wanting_ me to date Todd. He had always been pretty apprehensive about all my other blind dates I had gotten hooked up with in the past few years. But this is different somehow. I feel fast asleep thinking on this.

* * *

I woke up and shivered. I felt like I was in a freezer. The room was warm, but I was cold as a block of ice. I hate this time of year. The first couple of frosts always get to me. I never understood it. I moaned and looked at the clock. It was a little after four in the morning. I moaned again and got up out of bed, using the blanket as a cloak to keep warm. I make my way downstairs to the living room. I look at some of the pictures on the wall. They looked different at night; almost ghostly at times. But one doesn’t look any different—my parents’ wedding picture. The picture was of them staring into each other’s eyes on the stage.

I wonder if I will ever marry Todd? It’s a stupid question, but in the private confines of my mind, I can ask that, right?

“You’re thinking about Todd I bet,” Dad said, walking around the corner, coffee mug in paw. He didn’t have his prosthetic cover on his paw, like usual in the mornings.

“Maybe,” I said, a bit startled at his sudden appearance.

“He’s a good kit. Would be nice to have an architect in the family. Me and Carrots could have him build us a house for retirement,” Dad said, smirking.

I rolled my eyes and sat down on the couch. It then occurred to me that Dad _likes_ Todd. I figured now’s as good as time as any to ask why. “Dad?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you strict—I guess is a way to put it—about me dating?”

Dad took a deep breath. I was worried about what he would say. “I was going to tell you sometime, but I guess now’s a good time,” he started. “It was 2001. I was your age, and I was young and free. I met this vixen named Dian Weathers. She had moved here from Cowlifornia. She was beautiful. Anyway, there was a party going on, so I invited her. She accepted, so we went. I’ll spare you the details, but we basically broke up, even though we weren’t even dating. She hated me after that, and I avoided her. Last I heard she had moved back to Cowlifornia in 2008. Anyway, I met other vixens through the years, and some were serious, and others not so much. But I don’t want you to face any pain on a tod’s account. I love you, Nicole, and I want you to be happy.”

“I love you too, Dad,” I said, us both getting up to hug.

I pull away when I hear Mom making her way downstairs on her crutches.

“You’ll always be my little baby girl,” Dad said giving me a kiss on my forehead.

“And mine, too,” Mom added, stepping beside Dad.

“Good morning, Carrots,” Dad said, giving Mom a kiss.

“Morning, Handsome.”

I went to the kitchen to make an early breakfast. I grabbed a box of Lucky Chomps cereal and a bowl. I pour the cereal into the bowl, add some milk, and begin eating it as I sat on the kitchen counter, reading the back of the cereal box.

“What are you doing?” asked Mom as she entered the kitchen.

“Eating breakfast,” I said, matter-of-factually.

“Well don’t do it on the counter, young vixen,” Mom said, as she started pocking me with one of her crutches.

“Ok, fine,” I said getting off and moving to the dining room.

After I finished breakfast I go to get dressed. As I’m getting dressed, I notice the scar on my back again. I wish I hadn’t taken a walk that night.

Both of my parents have scars. It’s easy to understand why; because they’re cops who get shot at. I try to keep my scar a secret. My fur has grown back over it, covering it pretty well; but if you know what to look for, you can see it as plain as day.

The words _he_ said right before flash through my mind.

“ _How about ten lashes?”_

It was horrible to go through that.

“You better get going,” Mom said from behind the closed door.

“Almost ready, Mom!” I replied as I grabbed my backpack and headed out.


	3. The Investigation Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole begins her work as an intern at the ZPD. When they arrive, Chief Bogo has a little surprise for them. Some of the officers protest against it, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took forever to write this. I've had a lot going on the past month. But don't worry, I had some time to write this, and updates should be coming faster now.

**Chapter 3 – The** **I** **nvestigation Begins:**

* * *

School went as usual. I talked with Todd a lot. I probably didn’t talk to Brandon or Tia at all today; I don’t remember.

When I got home from school, Mom was busy making supper for later. “Hey, Nicole,” Mom said. “Could you go get the mail for me?”

“Sure thing,” I said as I went outside to the mailbox. I grabbed the bundle of papers and a package and took them inside.

“That’s quite a lot!” Mom remarked when I entered.

I chuckled as I laid the collection out on the dining room table and began to sort through them. Bills in one pile, magazines in another, and junk mail in another. The package was Dad’s new graphics card for his PC.

As I was sorting, I came across a letter with the ZPD seal on it and it was addressed to me. I anxiously opened it, not knowing what to expect. I was hoping it was a letter saying I was accepted as an intern at the ZPD.

> _Miss Wilde,_

> _We are pleased to announce that you are accepted as a Zootopia Police Department intern. You may report to Precinct One in downtown on…_

“Yes!” I exclaimed excitedly. “I got in!”

“Intern acceptance?” Mom guessed.

“Yeah! Look!” I said, handing her the letter.

She read the letter, then handed it back as she hugged me. “I’m so proud of you, Nicole,” she said. “Only twenty years ago, it would’ve been inconceivable for a fox or bunny to join the ZPD. But look at you—the daughter of the first bunny _and_ fox officers taking her first step into the Department. I can’t tell you how proud I am.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“It says here you’ll have to report to Precinct One tomorrow morning,” Mom said. “You better get a good night’s sleep tonight.”

“I will, Mom,” I said.

* * *

That night, at dinner, we were all seated around the table.

“Dad,” I said, starting the conversation. “I have something I want you to see.”

“What’s that?” Dad asked.

“I’ll go get it for you,” I said, leaving the table and going to my bedroom to grab the letter. When I sat back down at the table, I handed the letter to Dad. He opened the letter and read it.

“So you’ve finally made it in,” Dad said as he put the letter back into the envelope. “I’m proud of you, Nicole.”

“Thanks, Dad,” I said.

“I bet she’ll met a cute boy intern,” Kenny said smugly.

I rolled my eyes at Kenny. “Really?”

“That cop insulted me!” Kenny said. “Is that illegal?”

Dad shook his head no. “Your feelings are not protected by law.”

“Then I’m suing!”

“You’re not suing me for anything!” I said.

“Stop it, both of you!” Mom said.

“Yes, ma’am,” me and Kenny said at the same time.

“I would never sue my sister; I love her,” Kenny said, getting up and giving me a hug.

“Ok… a bit odd coming from you,” I said.

As Kenny made his way back to his seat, he started brushing himself off. “I hope I didn’t get your cooties!”

“Ok, you are _way_ too old to play that game, Ken,” I said.

“Just sit down and finish supper so we can go to bed and get to the Precinct tomorrow,” Dad said.

* * *

Dad woke me up at five in the morning.

“It’s time to wake up, Nicole,” he said.

“It’s too early,” I mumbled as I glanced at my alarm clock.

“Do you want to go the ZPD?”

Oh yeah! That was today. I opened my eyes and get out from under the covers and began getting dressed. I didn’t have a uniform in the usual sense, but I did have a polo shirt with an embroidered ZPD badge on it. I was told to wear it to have it act as a uniform as an intern.

Once I was dressed, I went downstairs to the kitchen where Dad was waiting for me. There was a bowl of oatmeal waiting for me. I picked the bowl up and began eating the warm, gooey oats. “Mmm… blueberries,” I said as I tasted the blue fruit in the mush.

I then noticed Dad’s left paw was in his right paw—he had taken it off. “Why’d you take that off?” I asked, motioning to his paw.

“Stupid thing’s power cord broke again,” Dad said as he set it down on the counter and put a screw driver into the housing, trying to screw it back in. “And it’s difficult to fix with one paw.”

“Need help?” I offered, getting Dad’s drift.

“Yeah,” Dad said. “Can you try to screw that wire into that circuit board?”

“Sure thing,” I said as I set my bowl down and took the screwdriver out of Dad’s paw. I put it into the back of the prosthetic and screwed it in. “Here you go,” I said, handing the prosthetic back to Dad.

“Thanks a lot, Nicole,” Dad said as he reattached the prosthetic to the base and wiggled the fingers.. “I don’t think I could’ve done that with one paw.”

“No problem, Dad.”

I know I mentioned how Dad lost his paw in an undercover mission, but I never described the prosthetic that replaced it. It was designed for practicality and function over looks—which is why there a synthetic skin with fur on it to cover it up. If you don’t look hard at his left paw with it on, you wouldn’t notice it’s a prosthetic. The paw itself has an exact replica of the bones in a paw as a frame, with a carbon fiber mesh that expands and contracts with electrical impulses—similar to how real muscles work—that cover some parts, as well as micro-motors to assist the synthetic “muscles”. The base is permanently attached to Dad’s forearm. It also has artificial extensions of the bones, as his flesh forearm is two inches shorter than the other. The prosthetic attaches to the base, seamlessly replicating all of the normal functions of a flesh paw. It has neural lines that go deep into his forearm to get the nerve information for movement. The base has two removable cords, about a quarter inch in diameter, that run down his arm and down his back to a low-profile belt that stores batteries for the paw. The belt weighs very little and needs to be charged once a week. He gets an updated version of the paw every few years. Because he lost his paw in the line of duty, the ZPD pays for the paw. The latest version that Dad had gotten has several glitches in the system, as well as hardware defects, most notably the primary power cord comes loose from inside the paw. Dad modified it a bit so it’s easier to repair when it happens.

“Come on!” Dad said, breaking me out of my thoughts. “We have to be there in less than thirty minutes.”

“Coming,” I said, putting the empty bowl into the sink.

We walked into the garage and out of the open garage door to the driveway where Dad’s cruiser was parked. Dad got in the driver’s seat, while I got into the passenger seat.

“You nervous?” Dad asked as we got underway.

“A little bit,” I responded.

Dad chuckled. “You’ll do fine.”

“What is it I’ll be doing exactly?”

“Well, it’s really just you being my squire,” Dad replied.

“And what does that mean?” I asked. I remembered in history class they talked about squires once.

“It means you follow me around, learning what I do and how I do it,” Dad replied. “It’s similar to an apprenticeship to a master work-mammal.”

“Well, if it’s just learning from you, I was pretty much born ready,” I said, smirking the way Dad does. But he wasn’t smirking back. In fact, he looked a bit nostalgic—but not in a happy way. “What’s wrong?’

Dad sighed. “I never told you this. I guess it just never came up.”

“What?”

“I was eight. Your grandmother, my mom, was raising me alone. Dad was deployed in the Army at the time. Anyway, I wanted more than anything to be a Junior Ranger Scout. It was all I wanted to do. It took a year, but Mom finally scraped up enough money to buy me a brand new uniform. I was so proud. When I finally arrived for the initiation, I was bullied for being the only predator and a fox. I was muzzled and humiliated. It was then I was determined to be the stereotype.

“When I arrived for the initiation, do you know what I said?”

“No. What?” I asked.

“What you said, ‘Pretty much born ready,’” Dad said. “It’s not you, it’s just that what you said brought that memory back.”

“I...” I started, not knowing what to say. “I didn’t know _that_ is what made you like that. That’s horrible.”

“I’ve pretty much forgotten it until something—like what you said—reminds me of it,” Dad said. “But in any case, we’re here.”

I looked out my window to see the majestic Precinct One. It was a large building, made to house the ZPD’s Precinct One, as well as a few other agencies.

Me and Dad walk into the lobby. I’ve been here a million times before, but this time it was different.

“Hey, guys!” Ben said from the reception desk.

“Hey, Ben,” I said. “What’s new behind the desk?”

Ben leaned down to whisper in my ear. “I have your favorite doughnut,” Ben said, handing me a brown paper sack. “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” I said, peeking into the bag. “See you later.”

As we walked off towards Chief Bogo’s office, Dad nudged be and said, “You’re pretty lucky.”

“How so?” I asked, taking a bite from the doughnut, an old-fashioned one with blueberry glaze.

“Ben _never_ gets someone a doughnut special for them. He usually lets everyone take from the ones he doesn’t like—which isn’t many!”

“I guess that’s why he whispered,” I said, taking another bite. “He doesn’t want people to ask for doughnuts.”

Dad laughed. “Exactly my thought.”

Dad knocked on the door to Bogo’s office and awaited an answer. “Come in,” came the response. Me and Dad walked in. “Take a seat, you two,” Bogo said, still looking at a paper he had in his hooves. We did so, waiting for Bogo to finish. He set the paper down, and took his reading glasses off, setting them on top of the paper he was reading. “I’m glad to see you following in your parents’ footsteps, Nicole.”

“It’s been my dream, sir,” I replied. “I’m just glad you took a chance with me.”

“Nonsense!” Bogo said. “I could see from when you were a little girl that you would make a good cop.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Now to why I asked you in here,” Bogo started. He sighed heavily. “I’ve been the chief of Precinct One for almost forty years now. I’m getting too old for this. Which is why I’m retiring.”

Dad reached out his paw for Bogo to shake. “Congratulations, sir. We’ll all miss you.”

“Hold up,” Bogo said, rejecting the paw. “I’m not done yet. In a meeting with the commissioner, the mayor, and me, we decided the next chief should be you, Nick.”

Dad looked shocked and puzzled. “Why me?” Dad asked.

“Come on, Dad!” I said, excited. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”

“There are a few reasons why we chose you,” Bogo said. “For one, you can make decisions on the fly, which is important for a police chief. Second, you are very smart, also a good quality. “Among other reasons, it’s also because you’ve been here for twenty years, which is the minimum to be chief.”

Dad still looked shocked. I don’t know if he ever expected to become chief. “Not to argue, but what about Judy?” Dad asked. “Wouldn’t she make a good chief instead? It was her dream to be a cop, after all.”

“I’m certain she would, but we chose _you,_ ” Bogo said. “I’ll be out of the office in two weeks, by then you will take the reins.”

“Thank you very much for this opportunity, sir,” Dad said.

“It’s a pleasure, Nick,” Bogo said, reaching his hoof out for Dad to shake, which he did. Bogo then turned to me. “You should be proud of your father, Nicole.”

“I am, sir,” I said, smiling as Dad gave me a small side hug.

“I’m proud of you, too, Nicole,” Dad said.

* * *

An hour later, we were seated in the bullpen in the large chair that Dad and Mom usually shared. Bogo soon walked in, holding a pack of case folders. “Alright!” he said. “Let’s get this started, shall we?

“First off, we all know her, but she’s here for another purpose: to learn how to be a cop. Welcome, Nicole M. Wilde.” Everyone clapped and cheered for me. “And second,” Bogo took his glasses off and stepped back from behind the podium. “I am resigning.” All of the officers began talking among themselves, surprised at the news. I looked at Dad. He had a very slight smirk on his face, probably because he knew what was next. Bogo held up his hoof for the officers to be quiet. “I will formally leave in two weeks, when Lieutenant Nicolas Wilde will take my place.” There was an uproar—some cheering with joy, others in anger.

“You can’t do that!” said the newest officer on the force as he stood up, pointing angrily at Bogo.

“And why’s that?” Bogo calmly asked.

Simba Rock, a lion and recent addition to the ZPD walked up to the front. “Are you serious?” he asked.

“About retiring?” Bogo asked sarcastically. “Yes, I am.”

“No! About _him_!” Simba said, angrily pointing to Dad.

We all knew Simba was speciest, but he kept it under control usually. He tried not to let it get in the way, but apparently a fox as police chief was where he drew the line.

“We all know that foxes aren’t trustworthy!” Simba said.

“That’s just an incorrect stereotype,” Delgato added. “The stereotypes for lions aren’t correct, either.”

“What?” Simba asked, turning to face him.

“Lions are stereotypically courageous, bighearted ruler-warriors,” Delgato said. “But, in reality, they’re generally quite cowardly—no offense to the other lion officers.

“None taken!” one of the other lion officers said.

“But, that just proves my point—stereotypes may apply to the general group, but not the individual. Take Nick for example; his species’ stereotype is untrustworthy and sneaky. He used to be that way, but he became something other than the stereotype.”

Simba looked angry, but he stormed back to his seat and sat down.

“Now,” Bogo started. “If we’re done with speeches, let me give you all your assignments.”

Bogo began handing out the case files and giving officers areas to patrol. He soon got to me and Dad.

“Officer Wilde, there has been a slew of kidnappings in the Canal District. I want you to begin the investigation in that case.”

“Yes, Sir,” Dad said, getting up and taking the case file. I followed him out the door.

Me and Dad walked out to the garage. The cruiser we drove here was still parked where Dad left it. We climbed in and Dad started the engine.

“You ready for your first day?” Dad asked.

“You bet!” I said.

Dad smiled as he pulled out of the garage.

Dad and Mom’s positions at the ZPD are a bit odd. Eight years ago, Dad was offered a detective position, but doing so would mean he’d need a new partner, leaving Mom. He didn’t want that, but Bogo knew Dad would make a great detective. So Bogo created a new position for Dad and Mom together—a “street detective”. They’d do patrol the same as always, but put a focus on investigations. Since then, precincts across the nation—and even internationally—have added street detectives to their force.

“Well, a kidnapping is, sadly, a fairly common occurrence,” Dad said as he started driving down the street. “Usually it’s between a divorced couple who both want custody of the child, but the court ruled in favor of one spouse over the other.” Dad fell silent as he continued to drive towards our destination.

As we drove, I was watching the mammals walking on the sidewalk. All sizes, and all ages, all going about their lives, ignoring one another as they walked.

After a few minutes, Dad spoke up. “Are you sure you can handle this?”

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, I don’t know if this might trigger something from… you know.”

I could see the concern in Dad’s face. He was referring to last year when _I_ was kidnapped. I was only captive for a week and a half, but it was traumatic. I’ve tried to push it deep into the dark recesses of my mind and forget it ever happened, but the scars will always be there. I instinctively rubbed my back to feel the scars. I couldn’t actually _feel_ the scars, but I knew where they were, so I could feel it in my mind. I could hear the laugh of _him_. _“You’ll feel that for a while!”_

“Are you ok, Nicole?” Dad asked, noticing the blank look on my face.

I closed my eyes as I slowly exhaled. “Yes, I’m fine. Just needed to reflect for a moment.”

“You good?”

“I’m fine. Let’s go get that kidnapper!”

“That’s the spirit!”


	4. Dead End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation is quickly put on hold for lack of evidence.

**Chapter 4 – Dead End**

* * *

 

We arrived at the residence of the Thump family within twenty minutes. The house was located right outside the Meadowlands in a small, kinda run-down community. The house was older, but it looked pretty well-kept compared to the others in the area. The family was made up of eighty rabbits. When I heard the number, I thought that was a large family, then I remembered that Mom has over 300 siblings. The name, Thump, sounded vaguely familiar, but I wasn’t able to put my tongue on it.

We walked up to the door, and Dad knocked. “Officer Wilde here for the investigation,” Dad said.

The door quickly opened and a female rabbit about forty years old stepped out. Her face lit up when she saw Dad and me. “Nicolas Wilde? Is that you?” she asked.

“Yes it is,” Dad said. “And this is my daughter, and now, intern, Nicole Wilde.”

The rabbit covered her mouth as her eyes started to water. “Little Nicole? Oh, it’s been so long!” she said. “How’s Judy and Kenny doing?” she asked Dad.

“Very well,” Dad replied. “Judy had an injury at work, so she’s taking a vacation for a while. We’ve actually adopted another fox, little Josh.”

“Oh really? I bet he’s a little angel; just like Nicole was.”

“I’m terribly sorry,” I interjected. “But I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Oh! Silly me!” the rabbit said. “I’m Nancy Thump. I was your caretaker when you were in the orphanage.”

When she said “your caretaker”, it brought back another flashback.

_ “I will be your caretaker.” _

“Um, won’t you come in,” Nancy offered, noticing my distant look.

“Thank you,” Dad said, going through the open doorway. I snapped out of it and followed Dad into the house.

“Won’t you sit down?” Nancy offered, gesturing to the sofa in the living room.

Dad sat down, and I sat beside him. The sofa was obviously made for rabbits and similarly-sized species. The sofa sank down under both our weights, and our knees were nearly in our faces unless we folded them out to the side. 

Once we were (somewhat) comfortably seated, Nancy cut straight to the chase.

“Tell me what you have on my kids,” she said.

“Unfortunately, not much more than when you were at the station yesterday,” Dad said.

Nancy looked a bit saddened at the news.

“Which is why I came here today,” Dad continued. “I was hoping to possibly get some clues from you or someone in your family.”

“As far as I know, there were no witnesses,” Nancy said, shaking her head. “We don’t have cameras in this area of town, and our neighbors aren’t the most friendly.”

Dad handed me a tablet. “Look up police records coming from this area for me,” Dad said.

“Got it,” I said, opening it up and beginning looking through the files.

“Can you please tell us what you know happened?” Dad asked Nancy.

“Well,” Nancy started, thinking about it. “It happened on September 25 th ,  between 6 and 9 pm.”

“Sorry to interrupt, but you said between 6 and 9 on September 25 th ?” I asked.

“Yes,” Nancy confirmed.

“Between 8:48 and 9:12 there were eight calls to the ZPD complaining about a semi truck parked with the engine running in the middle of the street.”

“That fits the time slot,” Dad said. “Were any details given?”

“It’s reported to have said “Weather’s Tires” on the trailer,” I said.

“Were there any mammals around the truck?” Dad asked.

“It says—” I paused, scared and shocked at what it said. “Two white wolves in all black.”

“Looks like he’s back in business,” Dad said. Turning to Nancy, “I’m sorry I have to cut this short, but I think that may be the break we’re looking for.”

“I’m glad to have helped, Nick,” Nancy said. “Please just bring my kids home.”

“Will do, Nancy.”

Five minutes later, we were seated in the cruiser.

“So what now?” I asked.

“We visit Weather’s Tires and see what they have to say,” Dad said. “Problem is, I have a vague idea of who the owner is.”

“We’ll just have to find out,” I said.

* * *

 

“What do you mean you ‘don’t have one’?” Dad asked, getting frustrated. “How do you deliver tires?”

“Oh we  _ have _ trucks,” the female otter seated behind the desk said. “Just none from thirty years ago. We replaced them all five years ago.”

“Well there are  _ eight _ witnesses saying one of  _ your _ trucks were parked on a residential street,” Dad said, emphasizing his words to get his point across.

“I’m sorry officers, but we sold all fifty trucks and trailers of our fleet five years ago. Only one is still in our possession.”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Dad asked, starting to get very frustrated. “Take me to see it!”

“That’s just it,” the otter said. “It’s at corporate—in Cowlifornia.”

“Cowlifornia!?”

We had gotten to the Weather’s Tire warehouse thirty minutes ago and were led to several offices around the place, each as unhelpful as the last, until we got to the manager of the Zootopia warehouse.

I was standing off to the side, watching Dad try to get info on where the truck could be.

“Where the heck  _ in _ Cowlifornia?” Dad asked.

“The owner, president, and CEO has it as a publicity vehicle. He takes it to races and car shows to promote the company.”

Dad ran his paw down his face. “Ok, so can you get me the address to corporate?”

“Here’s the business card. It’s on the back,” the otter said.

“Thank you,” Dad said, looking at the card. “We’ll be leaving now. Come on, Nicole.”

We walked out of the warehouse and to the cruiser. We got in and Dad sighed heavily.

“Are you ok?” I asked.

“I’m fine; just a little frustrated is all,” Dad replied. “If the truck still belongs to the company, which I think it might not after this, then they’d have to drive it from Cowlifornia to here and back in less than a week. It’s doable, but why would a  _ tire _ manufacturing company  _ kidnap _ rabbit kits?”

“It doesn’t make sense to me, either, Dad,” I said. “Do you think it’s someone with a look-alike truck?”

“That’s my hypothesis.”

* * *

 

It was getting late, and we were just following any lead we could, but they all lead nowhere. It was dead end after dead end. I was tired. Dad was sitting at his desk, looking through documents. I was sitting at Mom’s desk. I  _ was _ doing the same as Dad, but I started to doze off. I was soon transported to a year ago…

**One Year Earlier…**

“Where are you going, Nicole?” Mom asked.

“Just for a walk, Mom,” I said. “I’ll be back in a little while.”

“Alright,” Mom said as she laid down on her and Dad’s bed.

I went outside and walked a little way down the small road. I turned back and looked at the travel trailer we had been staying in. Our house had been damaged in the big storm that blew through here five days ago. Dad had taken Kenny and Josh to a friend’s house for the day, and me and Mom stayed at the RV park.

It was late evening—the perfect time for a walk. I walked all the way to the entrance of the park where there was a convenience store. I bought a soda and a candy bar and snacked on them as I made my way back. On the way, I noticed a weird noise behind me. I turn to look and I see a white wolf in all black walking about twenty meters behind me. I ignored him, just thinking it was another person staying at the park. 

I went for a similar walk every day for the next week. It felt good to get out of that cramped trailer and breathe the cool fall air. It was rejuvenating. 

After a week, late at night, I woke up. I checked my phone—it was three in the morning. I slowly and quietly climbed out of bed so as to not wake anyone up.

It was the first frost. It came early this year, but the first few frosts always make me feel cold, no matter were I am.

I grabbed my coat and slipped it on. I didn’t get my phone, because I don’t think anyone would call at this hour.

I made my way out the door and into the chilly air. I figured a walk would help me recover. My winter coat had already started growing, so I won’t be super cold.

After I had been walking for about fifteen minutes around the campsite, I heard someone breathing heavy behind me. It was that wolf from before. I had noticed him observing me anytime I went on a walk. It was odd, but I figured he was just sitting outside to enjoy the air as I was. But this time, he was out observing me—at three in the morning!

I knew instantly that this guy was not a friend.

* * *

 

“Nicole,” Dad said, gently easing me out of my slumber.

“Hmm? What?” I said, blinking to get the sleep out of my eyes. “What time is it?”

“It’s almost one in the morning,” Dad said. “I’m sorry we stayed out so late, but I really wanted to find the—”

“No, Dad,” I said, stopping him. “I loved doing it.”

“Good to hear,” Dad said, giving me a kiss on my forehead. “But we need to get home and get some sleep.”

“Sounds good,” I said, getting up and stretching.

When we arrive at home, Dad and I both went straight upstairs and got ready for bed.

As I get undressed, I notice my scar in the mirror again. I run my paw over it, feeling the texture of it through my fur. “Some caretaker,” I whisper to myself as I climb into bed, drifting off to sleep… 

**One Year Earlier…**

I started running away from him, but another, identical wolf jumped in front of me, knocking me to the ground.

“Don’t worry, little vixen,” the one in front said. “It won’t hurt ya!”

I quickly clambered onto my paws, but as soon as I did, the one in back wrapped his arms around me, capturing me. I breathed in deep to scream, but he clasped one paw over my muzzle. “No screamin’ gonna happen tonight.” he said. “It’ll all be over soon,” he said as the one in front put a bag over my head.

He released my muzzle, but I was suddenly too sleepy to scream. I felt him releasing my chest and I fell to the ground, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t hear anything—my ears were ringing and giving me a headache. I soon blacked out.

When I open my eyes what feels like a second later, I am in a cube-shaped storage room with walls and floor of concrete. The ceiling has some steel girders going across it and an air duct strapped to the bottom. There was one door on the left side of one of the walls. I get up, and I stretch, feeling sore all over. I have a terrible headache, but I feel I need to move. I try to open the door, but there isn’t a handle on the inside. There is a small window, but it’s too high for me to see through it.

I look about the room, but all there is in here is an empty crate and a steel bucket. The crate is big enough for me to climb up into and curl up into a ball, but I didn’t want to do that.

I sat down in the corner farthest from the door and pulled my legs up to my face and began sobbing.

I knew exactly what had happened—I had been kidnapped. In a few days’ time, I’d probably be sold off into the sex trade, being treated like a slave in some foreign country I couldn’t locate on a map to save my life. What I couldn’t believe was how stupid I was to take a walk in the middle of the night.

I didn’t have my watch, or my phone. All I had was the clothes on my back.

After what felt like hours later (which it probably was), the door opened and a middle-aged red fox stepped in.

“Nicole!” he said with a smiling expression with his arms out like he was going to hug me. “It’s been too long!”

I just continued to sit in the corner, staring at him. I knew from his accent he was from another part of the country, but I didn’t know where.

“You don’t know me. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Zane Weather. I will be your caretaker.”

I covered my face back up and started crying again.

“Oh, come now, Nicole,” Zane said, crouching down in front of me to look me in the eye. “I have some food for you.” He set down a brown paper sack beside me. “I’ll come to check on you in a while,” Zane said, standing back up. “I’d get to eating if I were you; the food’ll get cold if you don’t hurry.” And with that, Zane shut the door behind him, locking it tight. The sound of the door slamming made a terrible echo in this small, concrete room. I had to cover my ears to keep from going insane from a splitting headache.

The smell of the food draws me as I look inside the bag. The contents are a few small pieces of boneless fried chicken and a bottle of water.

I eat the chicken and drink the water. I didn’t realize how hungry I really was until I ate the food.

When I was done, I began sobbing uncontrollably. I was alone, afraid, cold, and lost. I didn’t know if I’d ever see my family ever again.

* * *

 

I awoke to the annoying sound of my alarm going off. Groaning as I do so, I silence it and climb out of bed. I got dressed and went downstairs.

“Good morning, Nicole,” Mom said as I walk into the kitchen.

“Morning,” I said, still sleepy. I open the fridge and get out the milk jug. I grabbed a glass and filled it with the cold, white liquid. I put the jug on the counter and began to down the glass’ contents into my throat. 

“Thirsty this morning, are you?” Mom said as she set a bowl of oatmeal in front of me.

“I guess so,” I said, setting the empty glass down and began eating the gooey oats.

After I finished my breakfast, I go back to my room and get dressed. I grab my backpack and head downstairs. “See you later,” I said as I step out the doorway. I walked down the sidewalk towards the bus stop, still reflecting on one year ago.

I find it kind of hard to believe I don’t have more mental illnesses from that than I do.

I arrive at the bus stop. Brandon was already there. “What’s up?” Brandon said.

“Nothing much. You?” I replied.

Brandon just shrugged his shoulders. “Meh.”

I laughed and gave him a punch in the arm. “Yeah right.”

* * *

 

Later that day, at lunch, me and my group of friends were seated at out usual table. I was beginning to space out, thinking of many things.

I hadn’t realized I had been so sheltered for so long. I had always heard of evil mammals and how twisted they were, but until I had been kidnapped, I never knew how evil they truly were…

**One Year Earlier…**

The lights in the room were never turned off, and they were bright. Like, really bright. They’d give you a headache just by looking up too much. It was hard to sleep in the cold, concrete room. At least I had my coat; it helped some. Eventually, I fell asleep. It was a deep, but fitful sleep. I didn’t know sleep could be deep, but you could still feel everything around you. When I started to wake up, I felt a warm presence sitting beside me. It was comforting. The warm body stirred, and I opened one eye. The warm body was Zane! I instantly jumped up and growled, only to be greeted with an electric shock coursing through my veins. The shock made me drop to all fours.

“What...” I asked, out of breath from the electricity. “What was that?”

Zane chuckled as he held out a remote. “T.A.M.E collar,” he said. “It’s a piece of history, don’t you know?” Zane offered a paw to help me up, but I slapped it out of my way as I got back onto my feet. I had never stood in Zane’s presence. He was a bit taller than I expected. He had an air of power; it seemed as if he loved having power over me. He was probably abused when he was young and now wants power.

“What history?” I asked, facing him with no fear.

“Hmm, getting brave, are we?” Zane said, looking me over. Zane reached a paw out towards my chest, but I grabbed his wrist, stopping him. “ _ Very _ brave I see.”

“Don’t you dare,” I said, trying to sound intimidating.

Zane smirked as he moved in one quick motion, twisting my arm, turning me around and making me defenseless. Zane pushed me to my knees and pressed a button on his remote to give me a slight shock. “But very foolish.” Zane released my arm and I crawled over to a corner and pressed my head into my legs. “You know,” Zane started. “The T.A.M.E collars were first used in the early 1940s by the Nazis in their concentration camps. It has since been adopted by nearly every country for their prisons.”

“And why does that make this a part of history?” I asked in an angry tone.

“Because, dear Nicole,” Zane said. “This  _ particular _ collar is military surplus from the Soviet Union. An original 1952 model. And it is still in perfect condition.”

I buried my face in my paws and began sobbing. I couldn’t hold it any longer. I was terrified. I had no idea what Zane had planned for me.

* * *

 

“Nicole?” Todd said, waving his paw in front of my face.

“Huh? What?” I asked.

“You were kind of blacked out there for a minute, Brandon said. “You ok?”

I sighed. I had never told any of my friends what had happened last year. I figured now would be a good time. “Remember last year, in October?”

“Yeah,” Tia said. “What about it?”

“Remember I was gone for a week and a half. I said I was sick, right?”

“Yeah, you had the flu,” Tia said.

“I didn’t.”

“What did you have?” Brandon asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Nothing.” I sighed. “I was kidnapped.”

“What?” everyone asked at the same time. “How did it happen?” “Were you ok?” “Who did it?” were all questions that were asked. I don’t know who asked what.

“I don’t want to go into details,” I said. “But let’s just say it was traumatic.” I took a deep breath as memories from it came rushing back. “And me and my dad are doing a kidnapping case at the ZPD. There are times when dèjá vú comes around for me.”

* * *

 

I started to regret telling my friends about the kidnapping. They asked questions for the rest of the day. I tried to answer them or deflect them, depending on how the answer would play out in my head. 

By the end of the day, I was tired of all the questioning. 

As I laid my head down on my pillow, the dream continued…

**One Year Earlier…**

When I awoke from my slumber, I felt different. The concrete room was still the same, but there was something about it that was wrong. I stood up and looked around. As soon as I did, I instantly knew what was wrong—I was wearing something different. I had some shorts and a t-shirt on.

As if on cue, Zane opened the door and stepped in. “Good morning, Nicole,” he said.

“Where was _ I _ when  _ this _ happened?” I asked angrily, pointing to my clothes.

“Hey,” Zane said, putting his paws up in surrender. “It wasn’t me who changed your clothes. It was my mother.”

“Your  _ mother _ ?” I asked, dumbfounded. “She’s in on this whole thing?”

“What’d you expect? Some early thirties fox was just gonna kidnap a sixteen-year-old vixen on his own?”

“Actually,” I said. “That’s exactly what I’d expect.”

Zane bowed his head. “Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Zane put a paw on my shoulder, but I jerked away. “Specist against your own species. How tragic.”

“I’m not specist against anybody!” I protested. “Just you.”

“I’m touched,” Zane said, putting a paw over his heart and smiling.

“Why are you so weird?” I asked.

“Oh, well now I’m hurt,” Zane said, keeping his paw over his heart but he made an exaggerated sad face.

My anger rose and I shoved Zane, only to get a shock from the collar.

“Oh, I forgot to mention the collar also reacts when elevated anger is detected,” Zane said. He didn’t even flinch when I had shoved him. He didn’t even move! “It’ll only be a little longer before you’ll get—no, never mind.”

“Never mind what?”

“Exactly.”


	5. More Kidnappings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Wilde family begins to go missing, and Nicole gets a phone call from an enemy.

**Chapter 5 – More Kidnappings**

* * *

 

I was awoken to the sound of my alarm going off. I opened my eyes and saw the alarm read six in the morning. I reached over and slapped the top of the alarm, silencing it. I stretched my arms into the air, stretching them. I slid out from under the covers, planting my feet firmly on the ground. I let out a big yawn as I made my way downstairs. Dad was there in his easy chair. The TV was on and playing the morning news.

“Morning, sweetie,” Dad said.

“Morning,” I replied.

I walked into the kitchen and opened the cabinet. I reached up for the cereals, grabbing the box of Lucky Chomps.

I set the box down on the counter as I look around for a bowl. When I finally find one, I set it down next to where I thought the cereal was, but it wasn’t there. I look around, and I see Kenny with the box walking to the dining room.

“What’re you doing?” I asked as Kenny sat down at the table.

“Eating breakfast,” he replied. “Duh!” And he proceeded to dump the cereal straight into his mouth, cereal spilling all over the floor.

“Why don’t you use a bowl?”

He shrugged. “Meh. Bowls are overrated.” He poured more in after swallowing the first mouthful.

When he stopped pouring it, I snatched the box out of his paw and walked back to the kitchen. “Hey! I wasn’t done!” Kenny said with a mouthful of cereal.

“You have plenty on the floor you can eat!” I replied.

“Disgusting!”

I then poured the cereal into my bowl, added some milk, then grabbed a spoon. I sat down at the dining room table across from where Kenny sat, gathering all the loose cereal on the table and licking it up.

I finished my breakfast and went back upstairs. I proceeded to change out of my pajamas into my clothes. As usual, I run my paw over my scar. It’s a habit I have. 

I rush downstairs with my backpack strapped to my back. I give Mom and Dad a hug, say goodbye, and head out to the bus stop.

Brandon wasn’t there yet, so I sat down on the curb and began reflecting on the worst part of last year…

**One Year Earlier…**

The next day, Zane entered with my food.

“Wakey wakey!” he said, setting the bag beside me.

“I haven’t even slept,” I said, opening the bag and taking the warm meat out. “Why don’t you give me a cot to sleep on?” I took a bite of the chicken.

“That comes with good behavior,” Zane said. “But you won’t be here long enough for it.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, taking another bite. I was starving.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Zane said, heading towards the door.

In that instant, I made a plan. It was daring, but I may have a chance to get out. Zane didn’t seem to expect me to try and escape, so I stood up and stretched as Zane made his way to the door. I made it look natural. Well, at least I thought it looked natural. Zane didn’t look at me, and he opened the door and stepped through, letting the hinges close it slowly. I reached out and grabbed the edge of the door before it closed, holding it open just a tiny bit. I peeked through and saw Zane go down the hall and turn left. I opened the door wider and looked. To the left was a hallway with three more doors like the one I was in. to the right was a wall. There was the hallway Zane went down straight ahead. I slowly stepped out and then ran towards the left. The hall curved to the right, meeting up with the hallway that Zane  _ was standing in, facing me! _

_ “ _ Well, well, well,” Zane said, grabbing me by the arm. “Look who decided to give up  _ all  _ of her privileges.”

A vixen in her late forties to mid fifties stepped out of a room off the hallway. “What’s this?” she asked in an angry tone. “Did you let her escape?”

“I did not,” Zane said.

“Whatever. Just make sure she doesn’t do it  _ ever _ again,” the vixen said, handing Zane a whip. “Use this.”

“Will do,” Zane said. “Alright, Nicole,” Zane said, turning to me. “Let’s get you disciplined, shall we?”

I was terrified of what was next. I was struggling to get free, but it was no use—Zane was too strong.

Zane took me back into the cell where I had been. Zane tied both my paws to a rope, then stretched them out and attached them to hooks I hadn’t noticed before.

“How about ten lashes?” Zane said as he cracked it against the wall, making it echo. It hurt my ears, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

I braced myself for the sting of the whip, but it took longer than I thought. It seemed as if Zane hesitated. But it eventually came. The sharp sting of the leather cutting into my flesh made me scream out in pain. Zane mirrored the first one on the other side of my back, giving another wave of pain.

He did it again, and again, and again… it seemed it would never end; each slash of the whip giving a million times more pain than the last.

What seemed like an eternity later, there were no more cracks of the whip. I was sobbing my eyes out, and my back was on fire. Zane released the ropes holding me in place, and I fell to all fours, out of breath.

Zane watched as I crawled to a corner. “You’ll feel that for a while!” Zane said as he left the room.

I sat down on my legs and tried to figure out what damage had been caused. I touched the open wound—bad idea. A huge wave of stinging pain went through me, making me drop into the fetal position. I could feel the blood continuing to flow out of my back, but my shirt was now in shreds—it wouldn’t make a good bandage. I tried to sit in a comfortable position, but the pain was too much. I would have to move every minute from the pain. It was unbearable.

Eventually, Zane reentered. I didn’t move, other than to look at him. He walked towards me and helped me up. He put an arm under my shoulder and walked me out of the room.

“Where—where are you—” I started to ask.

“Taking you?” Zane completed. “To get you bandaged up.”

“Why?” I asked, but not before I started to pass out. My head dropped down, my mind blacking out.

* * *

 

“What’s going on?” Brandon asked as he walked up.

“Huh? What?” I asked, not fully aware of where I was yet. “Oh, it’s you.” I stood back up and gave Brandon a little playful punch in the arm. “Where were you?”

“I slept in,” he replied. “What were you doing?”

“Reflecting.”

“On what?”

“It’s… it’s personal, ok?”

“Oh. Alright,” Brandon said.

I knew I could count on Brandon to not bring it up again. Me and him were able to trust each other like that.

The bus arrived soon after, and we boarded and sat down on the back seat.

* * *

 

After school, I decided to walk home. It seemed nobody was home. I went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. I grabbed a pawful of blueberries and went to the living room. I eat the blueberries one at a lime, making sure not to drop any, because a blueberry stain on the couch would be pretty noticeable.

After finishing them, I picked up a Zbox controller and turn it and the TV on, turning the console on. Howlo: Infinite was already in it, so I hit play after logging in to my profile. I played a multiplayer match for about thirty minutes before turning it off. I went up to my bedroom and laid down on my bed, on top of the covers. I stared at the ceiling for a while before closing my eyes and taking a short nap…

**One Year Earlier…**

When I opened my eyes, I was laying in a cot. I turned my head to look where I was; I was in the same cell, but a cot had been put in, and I was laying on it. I tried to get up, but as I did so, there was something keeping me from doing it comfortably. I put a paw on my stomach, and I felt something odd beneath my shirt. I lifted it up and saw a bandage wrapped around my torso. 

I stood up, stretched and walked around the room. It felt good to walk. I couldn’t feel my back—I was probably drugged with some painkillers.

Zane entered the room, and I barred my fangs and growled, instantly countered with a shock from the T.A.M.E. collar. “I  _ hate _ you,” I hissed as I rubbed the back of my neck with my paw.

Zane started walking around me. “Fine,” he said calmly. “All I want to do is give you a little backstory.”

“Why?” I asked.

Zane continued circling me. “I was born in 1999, here in Zootopia. But, like most things for me, It didn’t last long. My mother moved to southern Cowlifornia, back to where her brother lived. She took me with her. Then, in 2016, we moved back here, to Zootopia. How do you think we got rich? Two words: Night… Howlers.”

“What?”

“Yes, that’s right. We were one of the suppliers for that big fiasco in 2016. Dawn didn’t know we were predators, but who cares? All that matters is that we have what we need now.”

“What is it you need? Me?”

“Um… Not anymore, really.”

“Wait! You’re letting me go?”

“Not exactly…”

In one swift motion, Zane had me in a headlock and stuck a needle into my neck. I suddenly felt very weak, and I fell—no, collapsed would be a better word for it—to the floor. I couldn’t move, and I couldn’t open my mouth. All I could do was move my eyes. 

Zane knelt down beside me and reached a paw out, moving my head to look at him. “Don’t worry,” he said. “It’s only a temporary paralysis. It’ll go away soon enough, but first, we’ll need a few things from you.” Zane then picked me up and carried me out of the cell. He walked down the hallway, taking a turn or two, ending up in what looked like a hospital operating room. He laid me on the operating table.

“This’ll only take a second, Nicole,” Zane said as he picked up an empty syringe with a  needle on it. He stuck the needle into my arm and began slowly drawing blood. I could feel it, but I still couldn’t move or do anything. After he was done, he stuck another needle into my neck, making me feel woozy. 

As I drifted into darkness, I thought I heard Zane say “I’m sorry.” It was completely out of his character, and altogether odd to hear. I probably just didn’t hear correctly.

I fought the darkness as best I could, but I wasn’t able to keep awake for very long.

When I opened my eyes, I was tied up in the back of a van. I tried to yell, but the paralysis drug was still slightly in my bloodstream; all that came out was a loud exhale.

I tried to move a bit, but once I moved, I felt a wave of fire wash over me from my back. The bandage had been taken off, and the ropes I was tied with were cutting into it, making it bleed again.

I began to cry, as I didn’t know where I was, or if anyone would find me. 

I cried for the hopelessness of this situation.

After a few hours, I managed to get the ropes off, and look for a way out. But that was futile, as the van had been modified where those in the back couldn’t open the doors, and the back was closed off from the front. I laid down on my side and began sobbing again. I cried for hours. I don’t know how long it was, but it was a long time. 

Soon, I heard a voice. “Shh! Did you hear that?” a male voice said. The voice sounded a lot like Dad.

“I think I heard it, but I don’t anymore,” another voice said, this one sounding like Mom. 

I got up and began banging on the doors. “Get me out of here!” I said as loudly as I could; the drug had worn off by now.

“Hang on! We’ll get you out!” the male voice said. “Get away from the doors!”

I got as far away as I could. Three gunshots were fired, and then a crowbar was jammed in between the doors. It wiggled around a bit before the latch on the doors snapped off, and the doors flew wide open. A panther ZPD officer stood there with the crowbar in paw. He stepped back to let Mom and Dad stand there.

“Mom! Dad!” I said as I made my was as fast as I could to them. I embraced them tighter than I ever had before as tears began to flow, both mine and theirs.

“We were so worried!” Mom said.

“I was terrified!” I said in between sobs.

“It’s all right now, Nicole,” Dad said, as a tear of his landed on my shoulder. “We found you.”

For four days afterwards, I was in the hospital, where they stitched my back up. Since it had only been covered up, and not actually cared for, it was a bit infected. The doctors said that usually stitches don’t leave much of a scar, but since the wound had been open for so long, the scars would be prominent. At least, until my fur grew back over it in several months.

* * *

 

I was awoken to the sound of the front door being slammed. I sat up and looked at my clock—almost four thirty. I got off the bed and went to the hallway. I stood at the top of the stairs. I didn’t know who was in the house. It could have been a burglar for all I knew. I could hear them moving around the bottom floor, searching in rooms.

I knew where Dad keeps his home defense pistol in his bedroom, so I quietly went in. Nobody was in there, so I opened the drawer and took the .45 caliber pistol out. I chambered a round and silently made my way down the stairs, gun at the ready. I stepped out into the living room. I scanned the room to see if I could locate the intruder. I saw a shadow walking into a hallway. I pointed the gun towards the hallway and walked around the corner. The mammal’s back was turned. 

“Freeze!” I said. “Paws in the—Dad?”

He turned around in surprise. “Nicole?” I put the pistol back on safe and lowered it to the floor. “What are you doing?” Dad asked, a little irritated, but not mad.

“I didn’t know who you were, and it sounded like you were a burglar,” I said. “What are  _ you _ doing?”

Dad’s face went from minor annoyance to very worried. “Your brothers haven’t made it back from school.”

“What?” I asked, getting worried myself. “Where do you think they are?”

“That’s why I came here,” Dad said, taking a piece of paper out of his shirt pocket. “I found this on my desk this afternoon.” He handed me the paper. I unfolded it to read it.

> _ Hello, Nicky. _
> 
> _ It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Don’t worry about your kids; they’ll be fine. You might want to go home, though. There’s a little surprise there for you.  _
> 
> _ See you soon! _

I folded the paper back up and handed it back. “Do you know who it’s from?” I asked.

“Gene got some pawprints off of it, but they were pretty smudged, so he doesn’t know if he can get a reliable print,” Dad said, putting the paper back in his pocket.

“So you were looking for a ‘surprise’?” I asked.

“I thought it may have been a bomb.”

“A bomb?”

“Well, you know, Macgyver had a bomb under his house in one episode.”

“I doubt it would be a bomb, Dad,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I’ve been here since three fifteen, and I bet Mom would’ve heard someone putting a bomb in the house.”

“Speaking of her, what was she doing when you got my gun?” Dad asked, pointing at the pistol still in my paw.

“Now that you mention it, I didn’t see her on the bed.”

“Oh no!” Dad said as he ran upstairs. I followed him into his bedroom. “Carrots!” he called.

“Mom!” I said, trying to help look around.

“Judy! Are you here?” Dad asked. No answer. We both called again. Still no answer.

I suddenly noticed something on the pillow Mom was using. “What’s this?” I asked, picking it up. It was a business card for Strip Weather’s Tires. I turned it over and there was a note written on it.

> _ Like my surprise? See you soon! XOXO _

“Look at this,” I said, handing the card to Dad.

“Stay here,” Dad said. “Lock the door, and don’t let anyone you don’t know in.”

“Where are you going?”

“To find out who this is.”

Dad went downstairs and left. I went around the house, locking all the doors and windows, and checking the security cameras. Our home security system can be accessed from our personal computers.

As I watched them, I watched in horror as two wolves broke in at noon and went into my parents’ bedroom, and exited with an unconscious Mom, put her in a box and took her out and put her in their van and drove off.

I couldn’t gather any details about the wolves from the images, other than that they were the same ones who kidnapped me.

Scenes of last year were flashing before my eyes.

As I was seated at my computer, staring at the frozen image of the wolf carrying Mom, my phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number, but I answered anyway. “Hello?”

There wasn’t a response for a while, and I was about to say hello again, but the mammal on the other end finally replied.  _ “Hello, Nicole.” _

I almost dropped the phone. I recognized that voice instantly. “Zane? Why are you calling me? Where did you get my number? And why did you  _ kidnap my Mom _ ?”

_ “Hold on there!” _ Zane said.  _ “I called  _ you _ , I get to ask questions first.” _

“Fine,” I hissed.

_ “Well, I see you watched our friends take your mother on a trip—” _

“How do you know that?”

_ “Nicole, please. I wasn’t finished. But, we have a little bug in your room.” _

I looked around, and sure enough, I found it. It was a small black spot on the ceiling, right above the door. It was in a spot where it could see the entire room unobstructed.

“How long?” I asked.

_ “Oh, since that big storm last year,” _ Zane said. I then realized I had been targeted for almost a month before I was kidnapped.  _ “We put it in during the restoration. It’s funny how a couple thousand dollars and the workers will wire anything into a house.” _

“What do you want from me?” I asked, getting mad at Zane and his “associates”. I stared at the black spot.

_ “I want to make you an offer,”  _ Zane said, unfazed by my rage.  _ “If you come and talk, I’ll happily tell you all about it. But, I will tell you that if you don’t accept, your life will be a literal hell from now on.” _

“Oh yeah? Well how about you go to hell, huh?” I said, getting even more infuriated.

_ “We have your family, and if you don’t comply we will make you comply,”  _ Zane promptly said.  _ “I am done with your crap. Just get here, or  _ you’ll regret it _!”  _ Zane said through what sounded like a clenched jaw.

“Fine!” I said. “Just don’t hurt them.”

_ “Excellent,”  _ Zane said. _ “Head south on highway 69 until I wave you down. We’ll be waiting.”  _ Right then, the line went dead.

I had no choice now. 

I knew I needed to be smart about this. I went up into my parents’ bedroom and took Dad’s pistol back out of the drawer, as well as the holster. I put the holster on the inside of my pants, sliding the gun into the space it provided. I pulled my shirt down over it, and it was officially concealed carry. 

I also went to my room and grabbed my switchblade knife. I put it in my pocket. I also grabbed my car keys, my wallet, and phone. I went to the garage and opened the door of my car. 

I slid into the driver’s seat and started the big block V8 as the garage door opened. I pushed the clutch to the floor and put the shifter into reverse. I let the clutch out halfway and the car moved out into the street. I pushed the clutch back in, put the shifter in first, and let the clutch out, revving the engine up simultaneously.

I was on my way. I just hoped I wouldn’t be too late...


	6. Family History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole meets Zane for the first time in a year, and he offers her a job, in exchange for her family's freedom.

**Chapter 6 – Family History**

* * *

I drove through Zootopia, heading towards highway 69. On the way, I dialed Chief Bogo. He answered after three rings.

“ _Nicole!”_ the cape buffalo said once he answered. _“It’s nice to hear from you. How’s it going?”_

“Not so good,” I said. “Listen, I need you to ping my phone and track it. Do the same for Dad.”

“ _What’s the situation?”_ Bogo asked, moving to a serious tone. I could hear his hooves clacking against his keyboard.

“I’m going to meet someone who I don’t trust. I want someone to watch my back.”

“ _If you don’t trust the person, I’d advise not going,”_ Bogo warned. _“But I trust your judgment.”_

“Thanks, Mason,” I said. “I’ll call you if I need anything.”

“ _Glad to help, Nicole. Bye.”_

“Bye.” I hung up as I got onto the on ramp for the highway.

I drove aggressively, yet slow at the same time. I wanted to get to Zane and make him pay, yet also wanted to stay as far away from him as possible.

My paws were numb from gripping the steering wheel so tight—if you could see the skin on my knuckles, they would be white as blank paper.

A few lone tears fell down my face as I drove. I didn’t know why I was crying. Was it fear? Was it anger? I still don’t know.

The drive wasn’t long, only about ten minutes. But I saw a red fox waving me down next to a dirt road. I pulled into the road and stopped. Zane opened the passenger door and sat down. “Drive down the road,” he ordered. I did as he asked without saying a word. “So,” Zane started. “Long time no see. How’s it been going?”

“Go to hell,” I replied.

Zane laughed. “Same old Nicole.”

I was silent. I was mad, furious, angry, enraged—whatever words could be used for anger, I was feeling them at that moment.

“Pull in here,” Zane said, pointing to a barn off the road. I did as he said. I parked the car and applied the parking brake. I left the car running and in neutral.

Zane pulled a device about the size of a phone, but with a large button on the top. He led it out between me and him and pressed the button. Instantly, all the electronics in the car died. The engine kept running, though.

“What was that?” I asked.

“An EMP Jammer,” Zane said, putting the device back in his pocket. “I thought the engine would die, too. I guess Viper knows how to make a good engine.”

“Why did you bring me here? Did you do this just to ruin the electronics on my car?”

Zane chuckled. “No, no. That was just for fun. I wanted to test my little jammer I built.”

“What?”

“But the first part is so I could tell you a story,” Zane said.

“A story? Really?”

“Just sit there, and I’ll tell it to you,” Zane said. He cleared his throat and began his story. “In 1999, I was born. My mother is Dian Weather. You might remember that name, do you?”

“Sounds familiar,” I said. “She was a friend of Dad’s from high school.”

“More like a one-night-stand,” Zane said. “I was the result.”

“So that means… you are… oh God!”

“That’s right, sister,” Zane said “I am the biological son of Nick Wilde.”

“I think I’m going to throw up,” I said.

“Hold it in; it gets better,” Zane said. “Over the next few years, Mom became a crime boss. She had lots of connections, and, most importantly, she had access to _money_. Money will make anyone do anything. Later on, she married. Her first and only child from that marriage was put up for adoption at the Savannah Central Adoption Agency. You know who that is?”

I was really about to throw up now. “Me?”

“Correct again.”

I opened the door and threw up on the ground outside. “I couldn’t be _related_ to _you_!” I said when I was done. “You’re a criminal!”

“Well, we’re only _half_ related.”

“It doesn’t matter!” I said. I punched Zane in the face as hard as I could.

Zane’s head hit the window. He put a paw on his head and moaned. “That hurt,” he said.

“And there’s more where that came from, too,” I said, ready to throw more fists.

“We’ll see,” Zane said.

The door beside me opened and the two white wolves were there. They grabbed me out of the car and held me captive. I tried to wrestle free, but I wasn’t able to get out of their powerful grip.

Zane stepped up to face me. “Looks like we’ll have to do a little bit more negotiating than previously thought.” Zane then looked down towards my waist. “Hang on, What’s this?” he said as he lifted my shirt to reveal the gun. “Packing heat are we?” Zane said as he took the gun out of the holster. He flipped the safety and pointed the gun in the air and pulled the trigger. It fired as it should. “A loaded one, too. She wasn’t gonna bluff with this one, boys,” Zane said, elbowing one of the wolves as they snickered. Zane emptied the gun and tossed it on the ground. “Follow me,” Zane ordered.

The wolves carried me into the barn. The place looked as you’d expect a barn to look; a mix of straw and hay on the floor, a few bales in the loft and against the walls, all sorts of tools scattered about the place, a workbench with a mangled piece of steel that looked like it _could_ have been a water pump out of an engine at one point, and, in the middle of the floor, an old, rusted, cab-less IH 1206 tractor. My grandparents have two of them on their farm, so I could tell what it was.

Zane walked towards a door to what looked like a closet and opened it. Inside was, well, a closet. Zane spit an the ground, a tooth and some blood splattering on the ground.

“You’re just gonna lock me in a closet?” I said.

Zane gave me an angry sideways glance right before he grabbed at the floor and pulled to the side, revealing a concrete staircase leading down.

“Ladies first,” Zane said as the smaller wolf shoved me towards the stairs. I started walking down the stairs as my night vision began to kick in. At the end off the stairs was a short hallway, then a door. Zane squeezed by the wolves and opened the door. Past the door was a hallway that looked very similar to the one my cell was in last year. Then it dawned on me—it _was_ the same place.

I started to sweat as the memories came flashing back.

“I’ll take her from here, boys,” Zane said, taking a hold of my arms. The wolves walked off, and Zane led me to another door. He opened it and pushed me in.

The lights were off, but I could make out the shape of a table and chairs, a cabinet, and a bed. Zane switched the lights on to reveal what looked like a doctor’s office. But the bed had places to strap a mammal down onto.

“What is this?” I asked. Zane released me, but the door was locked tight, and I knew fighting him would be counter-productive.

“Riddle me this,” Zane said, ignoring the question. “Why go meet the person you hate the most—alone?”

“Because I—” I didn’t have a good answer, so I shut my mouth.

“Exactly,” Zane said as he sat down at a computer. He booted it up and started typing. I sat down on one of the chairs. I felt something bump against my paw—it was my knife! I had forgotten about it. I took it out of my pocket and held it tightly in my paw.

“So,” Zane said. It startled me, and I hid the knife as best I could. “You have two choices. You can either work for us, or, you can go home. Your choice.”

“I’d love to go home,” I said, sarcastically.

“There’s a catch, though,” Zane said. “What do you see here?” Zane said, pointing to the computer screen. I got up and moved over to the screen. I gasped when I saw it. “That’s right. We have your entire family captive.”

In my anger, I flipped the switchblade open and tried to stab Zane. “You bast—”

In one quick motion, Zane pushed my arm up, wrenched the knife out of my paw and held it against my throat. “So what’s it gonna be, Nicole?” Zane asked. “If you go with us, we’ll set them free. If you don’t, we’ll kill them, and you will be all alone. And with your eighteenth birthday coming up, Child Services can’t do anything for you. So who is it? You or them?”

I realized now I really didn’t have a choice. I made a decision. “I’ll do it,” I said. “I’ll work with you!”

Zane released me and tossed the knife into the wall, the blade sinking deep into the sheet rock. “Glad to have you join the family business, Nicole,” Zane said.

“I’m not a part of this _family_!” I shot back.

“You are now.”

I was about to say something back, but my phone started ringing. The color drained from my face. Zane reached into my pocket and took it out. The caller ID showed Bogo’s name and face.

“Well, we have the high-and-mighty police chief calling. What shall I do?” Zane said, exaggeratedly feigning fright. “Oh! I know!” Zane dropped the phone to the ground and stomped on it. The ringing stopped. “No more tricks, Nicole.”

* * *

Two hours earlier, Dad drove up to the Strip Weather’s Tire warehouse. The address was on the card that was left in the house. He walked up to the building and knocked on the door.

“ZPD! I have a warrant to search this building,” he said. No answer. He knocked again. “ZPD! Open up!”

Eventually, the door opened, and a red fox in his mid-fifties stood there. “What can I do for ya?”

“I’m Officer Wilde with the ZPD, and I have a warrant to search this building,” Dad said.

“What for?” the fox asked.

“There’s evidence that this place may be linked to kidnapping,” Dad said. “May I come in?”

“Sure, sure,” the fox said, stepping aside. “’S long as you’ve really got a warrant.” Dad walked in and began looking around the room. “There’s nobody here other than me, right now,” the fox said.

“Why?” Dad asked, looking at his watch. “It’s only a little after five thirty.”

The door to the stairs opened, and a middle-aged vixen walked out. “Nicky! It’s so good to see you!” she said.

“I’m sorry, but do I know you?” Dad asked, confused as to who this was. She did seem familiar.

“Why, I’m Dian!”

“Dian?” Dad said. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m the manager of this building. Strip over there is the owner of the company.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said, shaking Dad’s paw.

“Anyway,” Dad said. “At a kidnapping there was left a business card with this address on it and a note.” Dad handed the note to Dian for her to look it over. “Do you happen to recognize—wait.” Dad took out his notebook and pen and handed them to Dian. “Write out a few sentences for me.”

“Anything for you, Nicky.”

“And please, stop calling me that. We were never together.”

“Whatever you say,” Dian said, handing Dad the notebook back.

The sentence she wrote was _“Have you figured it out yet?”_

Dad looked back up at Dian. “You?” he asked, surprised. “You wrote the note?”

“I’ve been waiting for you to figure that out,” she said, then snapped her fingers.

The two wolves came in and took a hold of Dad. He wrestled around with them for a while, as he could match their strength. Eventually, Dad broke free of their grip and pulled his gun on them.

“Don’t move! Paws in the air!” he said. Dian then stuck a needle into his neck from behind. Dad instantly felt woozy. “What… was… that?” he asked as he dropped to his knees, dropping the gun beside him.

“Oh, just a little mixture I whipped up in my spare time,” Dian said. “You’ll be asleep for hours.”

As soon as she said that, Dad’s eyes became too heavy, and dropped shut.

* * *

When Dad opened his eyes, he had no idea where he was. He sat up and rubbed his head, as it was sore. His vision was a bit blurry, so he rubbed his eyes, trying to clear them up.

“Dad?” came the voice of Kenny’s voice.

“Kenny?” Dad asked, blinking as he looked to his side. Sure enough, Kenny was sitting beside him. “Where are we?” Dad asked. “And where is everyone else?”

“We’re here,” Mom said. Dad turned around to see Mom, Josh and Kenny.

“Where’s here?”

“We don’t know,” Mom said. “But we do know we’ve been kidnapped.”

“And where’s Nicole?”


End file.
